The European Commission (EC) said on Monday it has taken note of China’s anti-dumping investigation into certain imports of pork and pork products and assured that it will intervene if necessary.
“The Commission is now examining the request and we will follow the procedure very carefully in coordination with EU industry and our member states,” EU trade spokesman Olof Gill told a regular press conference.
He said the EC would intervene “whenever necessary to ensure that the investigation fully complies with all rules” of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it has launched an anti-dumping investigation into certain imports of pork and pork products from the European Union.
It is an early response to tariffs imposed by Brussels on Chinese electric vehicles and which could particularly affect Spain, the European bloc’s biggest pork exporter to the People’s Republic of China.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the community leader noted that temporarily imports of electric vehicles from BYD will be taxed at a rate of 17.4%, Geely at a rate of 20% and SAIC at 38.1%, all brands included in the study sample.
Following the investigation, the Commission provisionally found that “it is in the EU’s interest to remedy the identified unfair commercial practices by introducing temporary countervailing duties on imports of electric vehicles from China.”
According to Brussels, China’s electric vehicle value chain benefits from unfair subsidies, posing the threat of economic harm to EU manufacturers.
Some analysts consulted by EFE have already indicated that Beijing intends to focus retaliation against the tariffs on countries that defend the measure.
According to the Comercio portal cited by EFE, a petition to investigate the import of pork from Europe to the People’s Republic of China was submitted on June 6 by the Chinese Livestock Association.
The trial will focus on goods imported in 2023 and the damage those purchases caused between 2020 and 2023.
Likewise, it will analyze products such as pork, as well as pork fat and its derivatives, the People’s Republic of China said in a statement, adding that the investigation would begin today and last for a year, with the possibility of extending for another six months. “under special circumstances.”
Olof Gill emphasized that “not all subsidies are created equal” and that “any subsidy provided under the Common Agricultural Policy or, indeed, in any other area of the European Union is strictly in compliance” with WTO obligations.
“Dumping” corresponds to the most common unfair practice in international trade relations, which consists of exporting a certain product to third countries at a price lower than that practiced in the domestic market, and often lower than the cost of the product itself. in order to gain market share in the destination country.